Goodwill Industries of Central Virginia

Defining the Culture for our Goodwill

Building a work force based on core values

Derby D. Brackett6/18/2014

Goodwill Industries InternationalExecutive Development Program

2013-2014 Cohort

Table of Contents

Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3

Statement of the Problem …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4

Research Questions …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5

Purpose of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5

The Design of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6

Results …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 7

Lisa Rusyniak, President and CEO- Goodwill Industries of Chesapeake, Inc.

o Reinventing the Leadership Team

Kristine Hackbarth-Horn, SPHR, CCP, CBP, VP – People & Culture, Goodwill Industries NCW

Menasha, WI

o Breaking the Mold in Menasha

Kent Kramer, Senior VP and COO- Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana

o From Rules Based to Principles Based Leadership

Keith Reissaus, Managing Director- Nurse-Family Partnership, Indiana

o Throwing the Rule Book in the Trash

Robert K. Greenleaf, Father of Servant Leadership

o Greenleaf’s Best Test of Servant Leadership

Luck Companies: Igniting Human Potentialo Charles Luck, President and CEO, Luck Companies

Presentations on Values Based Leadership and his own corporate experience

GenerationsMatter, Matt Thornhill, Boomer Projecto Leadership Tools and Training on Generations

Financial Wellness/Family Strengthening Initiativeso Inspiring the Strength of Goodwill Employees-Learning Lab in Austin, TX, July 15-16, 2013

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o Executive Liaison on Family Strengthening Task Force for Goodwill of Central Virginia

Tom Epperson, Leadership Development Manager, Luck Companieso Bringing Values Based Leadership to Goodwill of Central Virginia

Sessions on Values Based Leadership designed to assist our organization redefine our values for 2014; and building our leadership model based on these values.

Finding and Noted Recommendations .………………………………………………………………………… 19

Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 23

Personal Learning Reflections…………………………………………………………………………………………… 25

Acknowledgements/References……………………………………………………………………………………….. 29

Appendices …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 32

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Introduction

Goodwill of Central Virginia (GCVA) has been in existence since 1923 serving the communities

surrounding Richmond in Virginia. Charles Layman has been our CEO since 1983 and has led us through

the many challenges of a constantly evolving organization. One of the most defining changes was in

2006, when Goodwill of CVA acquired the struggling Goodwill of Hampton Roads forming a new

organization serving the 39 cities and counties of Hampton Roads and Central Virginia. With the

acquisition of new territory also came the challenge of creating a singular identity- our brand across the

territory. Layman has worked diligently to establish that brand identity- working with consultants, GII,

the community and our board, and his own leadership in creating an organization that is consistently

recognized for our mission across our territory. Today GCVA is a $60 million dollar organization that

serves over 17,000 individuals annually and operates 30 retail stores and outlets, an auction, e-recycling

business, commercial services, temporary staffing services and manages government contracts

throughout our area as well as collaboratively with Charleston, South Carolina. We have over 1200

associates who proudly wear the Goodwill blue. I think it is clear that our mission is impactful, our

balance sheet healthy, our management is innovative, and our brand is identified as a work force

provider and a retail store. What then is the next evolution for our organization?

Our current growth and our presence as a large employer in Central Virginia and Hampton Roads (one of

the top 50 in Richmond) give us the great opportunity to become an employer of choice, building a

culture that serves our mission internally and externally. This starts with defining our leadership. We

are in the unique position to be able to build leadership based on the foundation of our Goodwill

mission and vision. With the cultivation of the passion surrounding our mission, we must also address

the generational issues of engaging our younger associates and creating the job loyalty that is inherent

in older generations. While we continue to utilize the existing expertise, we also want to attract new

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talent to our long term social enterprise. And we need to capitalize on the innovation that is a result of

that engagement to produce a product - a social enterprise - that adapts to the community and

continues to be able to serve those who need us most. We must address the fear of change that comes

with the experience of success. It is the toughest choices that change lives disproportionately; the

choices that have the greatest effect.

Why now? Our $60 million organization is thriving, financially sound and guided by absolute

commitment to a stated mission and a clear vision. At a time of success, why does it become critical to

move people to a different way of thinking - to a culture based on values and service, in combination

with a business based on solid financial outcomes?

Statement of the problem

We have been working on a culture shift for our Goodwill for over ten years; with the current

leadership, over three. If we fail to recognize the need to focus our culture inward - to define,

implement, and measure a robust leadership model - we will fail to grow our mission outward.

Our Goodwill has gone through the exercise of defining servant leadership for us. We started with the

Robert Greenleaf model: “Do those you serve (Associates, clients, customers), grow as persons? Do they,

while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become

servants?

What is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least, not be further

deprived? “

We developed a platform we thought made sense and our mantra became: “We serve others first:

support, develop, coach, and then get out of the way.”

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We understood the words, felt the emotions, tried the behaviors, and thought we knew the outcomes.

But implementation has fallen short. The components of servant leadership alongside our mission and

vision became too broad-based for our organization. It became evident that any leadership style we

choose must be derived from our mission and in lock step with our vision and our values. Servant

leadership is certainly a component. While we believe in the tenets of servant leadership and we do put

associates first, how can we integrate this into our daily business and get our organization to the next

level with our values based culture?

The core research questions:

What will define our leadership and enhance our culture for Goodwill of Central Virginia

(GCVA)? (Adapt a model that is already defined such as Servant Leadership or is this the time to

adapt and define our own?)

What measures for success do we use? (Talent acquisition, retention, internal promotions,

associate survey results, learning hours, board engagement)

How do we make the change? (Establishing an internal task force, engaging external

consultants, leadership meetings, associate rallies)

How do we overcome the fear of changing something that is now working? (People will resist

change for this reason alone.)

Purpose of the Study

Propose the leadership culture for GCVA, integrating with our mission, vision and values.

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Improve our understanding of the generational attraction for the Goodwill jobs of tomorrow and

the profile of the younger leaders.

Develop next steps for our culture shift based on our defined leadership vision, values and

behaviors.

The design of the study

My research is a combination of experiential learning and qualitative research. My career choices have

been aligned with organizations that are based on serving leader tenets. My experience with leadership

has always been grounded in this arena, but I have never been in a position to define the outcome, only

to follow the role models. Multiple literature reviews of subject matter experts in the leadership field,

such as Ken Jennings or Jim Collins, have consistently been a part of my training.

With this fundamental knowledge, the first clear path for me for this endeavor was participation in all of

our culture based activities with our CEO, Charles Layman; other GCVA leadership; Bronwyn Jones, our

Organizational Development manager; and Tom Epperson, Development Manager with Luck Companies

to reset our direction and refine our shifting culture. Having begun this journey in 2003 and increasing

intensity in 2011 with an internal servant leadership focus, it became evident that this is not enough to

change our culture at the deeper levels that we had envisioned. Today, our leadership has engaged with

Epperson to conduct Luck Institute’s Values Based Leadership training. This effort is designed to best

define an enduring leadership model that integrates with our Goodwill mission and our strategic plan for

2014-2016. My hope is to apply learning from my research to begin implementation of the next phase of

our culture and leader development.

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The next awareness is that Goodwill is unique in its mission and vision base - there is a culture that is

intrinsically in place now. How have other Goodwills taken this to the next level and deepened their

culture, their service of people, for their internal structures? I connected with three other Goodwill

organizations, either over the phone or in person, to understand their experience and their transitions -

both obstacles and opportunities. I also understand the need to identify with our total workforce and

the innate challenges that exist with our diverse associate base. I serve as the Executive liaison on our

Family Strengthening Task force so I can stay abreast of those challenges and be a part of the solution.

The last area of consideration was the changing workplace and the realization that changes made today

must appeal to multiple generations. Communication styles across generations can differ vastly, as do

work habits and lifestyle expectations. How can we design a culture that is engaging and enduring,

meeting the needs of the different generations? It is clear that this begins with the leadership- if the

leadership demonstrates the behaviors and the values that we define as essential to our culture and

adaptable for the future vision, we can begin to influence and change the organization. But this takes a

multilayered effort to appeal to the entire workforce. I worked with an expert in the field of

generational understanding, Matt Thornhill with the Boomer Project.

Results

Lisa A. Rusyniak: Reinventing the Leadership Team

After 15 years, serving that last few as COO, Rusyniak took over as CEO at Goodwill Industries of the

Chesapeake, Inc. The retiring CEO had over 37 years of Goodwill experience with 17 years at the helm of

this Goodwill. Seventeen years is a long time to establish leadership norms and culture for the

organization. As Rusyniak took over, three long term vice-presidents in retail, human resources, and

development also retired. It became imperative for Rusyniak to build her own team and set a new

precedent for her leadership style. She quickly realized the need for increased integration of the retail

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and workforce development sides of the organization. She focused on revisiting core values and created

a new management team philosophy, “One company, one team, one mission” . She got to know her

associates – by making personal visits to thank them and listen to their concerns; by sending “state of

the union” messages via email; by sending personal birthday and anniversary cards. The greatest

obstacle was in overcoming decisions that had been made in the past, but were no longer relevant. The

sense of distrust among associates that this type of change brings was quickly put to rest with her

personal actions and her perseverance to integrate operations. Her leadership brought record breaking

success in 2012, and she continued to focus on her leadership team growth with RightPath training and

substantive development plans for all managers.

Kristine Hackbarth-Horn, SPHR, CCP, CBP, VP – People & Culture: Breaking the Mold in Menasha

As VP of People and Culture, the title says a lot about the structure and the tone of the culture at the

Goodwill in Menasha, WI. With a traditional human resource background, Kristine and her Chief

Visionary and Storyteller, Bob Pedersen, have formed a very non-traditional approach to culture. They

have worked at it for over ten years and it is still a work in progress. The most important aspect of their

journey is their “intentional culture”- it is a conscious, living and breathing component of the

organization. And it began with the values - moving values from words on a wall to bringing the values

to life through defined behaviors and outcomes. Today, the organization practices prioritization of the

most difficult decisions based on values. It forces them to act differently, providing a values road map

for making business decisions.

As the Menasha Goodwill continued their journey, three systematic steps became clear. Behaviors must

be well defined and articulated often; use of intentional language and symbols is critical to the

communication; and a deeper review of leadership expectations and procedures is fundamental to

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rebuilding the team. The culture has become one of allowance versus compliance, with the days of

saturating the workforce with policy replaced with a workplace that puts trust on the front end of

operations. Peers “care-front” peers; the growth and development guidebook is designed for “Caring

Leaders”; employees are “team members”; and they remove “culture busters” and focus on “culture

builders”.

For Menasha’s evolution, it was mandatory that people felt they had a choice. They could participate in

the new culture with the understanding that the “road is changing and the destination different” or they

could move on. There was an element of fear of the commitment to a lifelong change; there are always

those that are resistant or uncertain after years of following a more traditional path of leadership. That

was understood and that element was reduced by choice. The remaining leaders must be aligned with

the values. Every leader undergoes a 360⁰ assessment annually, exercising transparency on a daily basis,

with their actions demonstrating their “People first” philosophy. This is clearly shown through their

“Circles of Care” programs focusing on Emotional and Spiritual well-being, Health and Wellness,

Financial Stability, and Personal Safety - an undertaking to get to know their people and their needs

better.

As Hackbeth-Horne told me, they are still on the journey today. All of their materials and the decisions

they have made about leadership for their Goodwill reflect their culture. They continue to be innovative

and have embarked on a new Dream Fulfillment path. They focus on Great Rewards: Good Pay. Good

Care. Good Work - a “Program designed to help team leaders attract, hire, develop, and reward team

members who are committed to our vision and mission.” And they continue to grow their business,

increasing assets, revenues, and people served steadily over the past ten years. Menasha truly broke the

mold of traditional culture - they built a successful model for their business, mission and people. It works

and they work it.

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Kent Kramer, Senior Vice President &COO, Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, Inc.: From Rules

Based to Principles Based Leadership

Kent Kramer has been working with this Goodwill for over eleven years. When he joined the

organization, the leadership had just implemented a significant culture change from a rules based

organization to one that is now principles based. The transition was a vision of long-time CEO, Jim

McLelland, who, in 1998, recognized that their business alignment needed to change. He boldly asked

the question-“what if you did away with the rules and policy, replacing them with guiding principles?”

Today the Indy Goodwill operates on five basic principles:

Respect for people - We strive to treat everyone with respect.

Customer Satisfaction - We strive to exceed the expectations of customers, donors, and clients.

Informed decision making - We gather information and facts to make sound decisions.

Continuous improvement - We continually improve our work environment to accomplish our

mission.

Good Stewardship - We are good stewards of Goodwill’s resources.

These principles are integral to all of their processes:

Interviewing guides are based on these five principles.

VP’s or Senior leaders attend orientation six times a year to discuss use of these principles.

The review process is heavily focused on the five basic principles.

The associate behaviors and the promotion process include evaluations based on the five

principles.

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All of the organization is both culturally AND operationally aligned with the five basic principles. They

have become the backbone of the organization today and are the basis for consistency among

leadership. More time is spent today hiring people than firing people - managers have the autonomy to

deliver results; they operate aligned with the principles, spending more time managing people.

Retention rates are high - from 65-80% - clearly indicating the emphasis put on growing the individual,

not just running the business. They have implemented a new program, Established Leadership Series,

designed to foster growth in leaders. The program is a series of monthly seminars aligned with the basic

principles and associated competencies. It amounts to nine months of intensive career development

that is directly tied to their competencies. The realization is clear - the journey is not over; creating new

leaders with consistent beliefs and aligned with the guiding principles must be practiced on an ongoing

basis. It is an investment of time and money to sustain the culture in Indianapolis.

Keith Reissaus, Managing Director, Nurse - Family Partnership Indiana: Throwing the Rule Book in

the Trash.

Keith Reissaus was brought on board with the Goodwill of Central Indiana over 15 years ago. His

innovative human resource approach is largely responsible for the transition to current day principle-

based leadership at the organization. He worked through the obstacles and persevered in getting to the

culture that is dominant today. It was not an easy process as Reissaus so freely shared.

One of the biggest obstacles he encountered was the traditional human resource approach and the

back- ended human resource systems that were in place. Progressive discipline systems, attendance

systems, the “fear of management” control - all had to be thrown out. Those practices did not align with

the components needed to change leadership thinking. They actually stalled their ability to grow. The

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human resource philosophy had to be changed to one based on trust; trusting managers to do the right

thing.

Reissaus shared his belief: “you can train the mind, but you can’t train the heart.” One of the key

initiatives was to better align talent with the mission to increase mission impact. It is easy to train

individuals intellectually to be a part of your organization; but training individuals to be passionate

about your mission is another challenge altogether. It may not even be possible if the core beliefs of the

individual do not align with your organization. It became evident that recruiting and training efforts

needed to be focused on the basic principles first; that new leader relationships must be based on trust.

So much of the energy spent by the generalists in Human Resources was spent dealing with grievances

and discipline, when the energy could be directed at improved hiring and onboarding practices. Hiring

good people aligned with the principles was the key to changing the role of human resources in

developing their work force. Progressive discipline practices were another barrier to overcome. By

reviewing the performance improvement plans through a different lens, Reissaus quickly separated the

stack into two piles: 1) those that should have been fired, and 2) those that should have been rehired

and retrained based on the new principle culture. The time spent correcting the problems could have

been spent creating new opportunities. The focus had to shift from discipline and compliance to

performance management coupled with new levels of incentives. As Reissaus described it, “creative

abandonment” was used to abandon traditional performance appraisal practices altogether, decoupling

the compensation system from the process and focusing on development based on principles and

integrated into training. The self-evaluation became a critical tool for the process - a tool that says “here

is where I see myself”. That psychology changed the process from one of performance appraisal to one

of performance development. It overhauled the human resource approach to the performance

evaluation, to one more aligned with the shift in culture and creating an environment of trust versus a

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climate of compliance. In the long run, success was a simple formula: the shift from rules and the tools

that look for bad behavior to principles and the tools that look for good behavior.

Servant Leadership: Robert Greenleaf’s Best Test of Servant Leadership

In 2003, Charles Layman began to look at the culture and brand of our Goodwill. One of his initial beliefs

was that our leadership should be one of service. In 2011, we revisited this for our organization with our

current executive leadership, many of whom were new since Layman had first introduced the concept.

We began to define what the serving leader in our Goodwill might look like today. The principles were

well known by most, but how would they be applied in our work?

The Servant Leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve

first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. The best test and most difficult to measure is:

Do those you serve (Associates, clients, customers), grow as persons? Do they, while being served,

become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?

What is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least, not be further

deprived?

We began to expand on the tenets of The Serving Leader: Build on Strength, Blaze the Trail, Raise the

Bar, Upend the Pyramid, Run to Great Purpose. Using the tenets, we defined behaviors for us that could

be used to demonstrate servant leadership. We began to create the expectation and measure the

behaviors through a series of scorecards. We shifted our focus to associates first: our associates are our

customers. We built our behaviors on the motto: “We serve others first: support, develop, coach, and

get out of the way.” We initiated alignment of the tenets of serving leadership with the business:

strategic planning, annual planning and operational planning. And we began to cascade these messages

throughout the organization’s leadership. Our hope was to inspire, engage, embrace, and yes, live it.

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By early 2013, the process had stalled. We were no further along than defining behaviors and creating

scorecards. We had shared our belief in servant leadership; we had communicated the tenets and our

expectations; but we were not able to institute the commitment to our culture that we committed to

our business. It was not enough.

Charles Luck, President and CEO, Luck Companies: Igniting Human Potential

Charles Luck is the third generation family leader for Luck Companies, which was founded in 1923. Luck

Companies began as a stone quarry operation out of Richmond, Virginia, and has grown to a global

operation still focused on stone and design, but is now also renowned for their commitment to Luck

Institute’s Values Based Leadership.

The background for Luck Companies is not so different from what we have seen in our Goodwills - the

obvious difference that this is a for profit corporation. At a time when his corporation was realizing

financial success and tremendous growth, Luck knew this wasn’t enough. He identified three critical

points:

Fast-paced growth and financial success do not alone guarantee viability for the future.

The rapid pace of change results in dysfunction and disruption among leaders as they scramble

to meet the challenges.

Upon review of the developing issues, it became clear that the change needed to start with the

leaders.

In 2003, Luck and his leadership team embarked on a journey to make the needed changes. Their

process was uncomfortable, even painful at times. He realized that to be authentic leaders in an

organization, personal core values, principles, beliefs, and purpose must be aligned with those of the

organization. To be able to achieve this alignment, their organization must be intentional in identifying

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and institutionalizing their set of values, principles, beliefs and purpose. The Luck team worked on this

for seven years. It took passionate leaders with intense personal values to guide the process and keep

the management on track. It was a laborious process and not without loss of longtime associates -

associates who were not willing to adapt or could not adapt to the changes taking place. It demanded

courage and a tremendous investment of time, money, and spirit. Accepting failure was integral to

understanding success and perseverance was mandatory. In the end, the outcomes far outweighed the

fears.

Today, Values Based Culture and Values Based Leadership (VBL) are used throughout Luck Stone. Their

customized platform- built on years of personal experience and beliefs, identification of business goals,

and ultimately, leadership training- is defined as “living, working and leading in alignment with your

values, principles and beliefs to in turn ignite the extraordinary potential in those around you.” Luck

Companies uses VBL guidelines to hire individuals who are aligned with Luck; in onboarding new

associates; in combination with business outcomes for determining rewards and recognition; and in

annual 360⁰ reviews and associate engagement surveys. It is pervasive throughout the organization and

is guided by leadership example on a daily basis. Today, Charlie Luck will tell you that VBL is more

important than the balance sheet; that the growth of Luck’s associates is as strong as the development

of new business; and that this unwavering commitment from leadership is working. This is

demonstrated by the measurements for return on investment used by Luck Stone today:

Financial Non-financial Sales Profitability Return on capital

employee Average sales price

Employee engagement (annual survey) Succession Enablement (given the tools, training and

development to do the job) Lower turnover Individual performance (performance reviews) Division alignment Trust Development Net promoter score (customer feedback) Improved safety rates

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In their next steps, Luck turned this mission external, developing the Luck Institute for Values Based

Leadership with the mission: “to ignite human potential through Values Based Leadership and positively

impact lives around the world.”

Tom Epperson, Leadership Development Manager, Luck Companies: Bringing Values Based Leadership

to Goodwill

Upon learning about the Luck experience and struggling with our own lack of progress with serving

leadership, we engaged Tom Epperson as an outside resource to help us discover our culture. We

recognized that we were too close to do this on our own. We needed someone on the “balcony” to look

down and tell us what we” look like” so we could better define what we really want to become as

leaders.

Knowing the difficulty that it takes to persevere on this journey, and the amount of time and dollar

investment to make this a reality, we considered our options carefully. In the end, we knew we could

not get there without this high level of commitment. We decided to work with Tom Epperson for one

year to propel our leadership towards a culture truly based on our values, and on being serving leaders

in an organization that serves others, above all, through our mission.

We began at the beginning - with our own personal values. Until one understands one’s own self, one

cannot begin to align with any organizational values. After several sessions to craft our values and after

input from our broader leadership, we arrived at today’s values, complete with outcomes and defined

by specific behaviors:

Commitment: We deliver our value to and impact on the organization.

Innovation: We exercise the power to make improvements.

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Integrity: We earn trust through all of our actions.

Learning: We grow and succeed through learning.

Respect: We value and connect with others.

Teamwork: We achieve goals and deliver our mission together.

Next steps are a series of monthly training sessions to explore our evolution as leaders, beginning with

enlightening Insights Personality Profiles. Understanding how to relate to one another is the first step in

becoming better leaders together. Epperson will take us through multiple facets of authentic

leadership- based trainings to include such weighty topics as Situational Leadership, Developing Teams,

Delivering Feedback, and Trust. It is a collaborative effort for our group of 30 - a considerable

investment of time, dollars, and thought leaders. We believe the return on our investment should mirror

in tone the financial and non-financial measurements used by Luck Stone (see above). The ownership

that comes with being part of the process will get us to our goal of always leading with values and

delivering on our mission. It is a simple outcome with an arduous path.

Matt Thornhill, The Boomer Project: GenerationsMatter

Matt Thornhill and his firm, Southeastern Institute of Research, have focused their research on

understanding the generational influences in the workplace, on general trends and on marketing

strategies. His presentation, “Generations@work”, to the leadership team of Goodwill of Central Virginia

was eye-opening and indicative of the work that we need to do to understand generational differences

as we evolve our culture. Three distinct generations interacting in the workplace create new challenges

for leaders. Boomers, Gen Xers and Millenials all have vastly different perspectives on work and life - it

affects the way they do business and the way they want to be treated. In “Generations@work”,

Thornhill addressed the style and preferences of the three generations as it pertained to technology and

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tools, work environment and culture, loyalty and authority, work and personal style, change and

problem solving, learning and development, communications and feedback, rewards and recognition.

Components of work and the passion of a culture simply do not look or feel the same to these three

generations. As we continue our culture journey at Goodwill, it will be instrumental to understand these

groups to develop the right language, the best communication methods, and the right messaging that

will appeal across the generations and emphasize a common goal, our mission.

Financial Wellness/Family Strengthening Initiatives: Inspiring the Strength of Goodwill Employees-

Learning Lab in Austin, TX, July 2013

As the Executive liaison to our Family Strengthening Task Force, I am well aware of the issues that affect

our associates: financial wellness, transportation, childcare, housing, and food. The initiative to build

support for our associates - to deliver our mission throughout our own workforce - is critical to our

culture and an instrumental component in our leadership focus. We are developing very specific

initiatives in this area for 2014 and complete integration into our Human Resource department for 2015.

Current focus includes financial literacy with our goodChoice program, wraparound services with our

Family Strengthening Task Force, launch of the Hand Up program for associates, and budget allocations

for family strengthening projects for 2015. This session was indicative of the universal focus from GII to

begin our mission “at home”. The topics addressed at this learning lab included: financial wellness, child

support, pre-paid cards, and other support needs. The needs of our associates are an organizational

concern and it’s our organizational responsibility to serve our associates as well as our community. As

we consider the components of our leadership and our culture, the issues of family strengthening

provide clarity on the state of our workforce and help us to become solution based leaders and not just

employers. To be an employer of choice, it is critical to understand both the needs and the challenges

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of your front line workers as well as your leaders. There should be a balance of focus and culture that

provides stability and opportunity for both.

Findings and Noted Recommendations

Throughout my research, there are several recurring fundamental themes of successful culture change

that result in dramatic organizational shifts and productive business growth.

1. It must be personal. A true shift must be felt personally for it to be realized professionally. All

leaders have roots that define who they are and direct how they act; these need to be brought

to the forefront when discussing change. The change must begin with the core.

Recommendation: As we have redefined our values to more closely align personally, we must

now practice the values when making all decisions. For example, our recent budget realignment

involving the downsizing of several departments demonstrated a new challenge for our values

of teamwork- involve and engage team members at all levels- and innovation- take action to

make a positive difference.

2. Leaders must have courage. It takes courage to make the tough decisions, but even more

importantly, it takes courage to take the first step to identify that change is necessary - even

inevitable.

Recommendation: Courage is always evident. But it can never be a homogenous approach as it

may look differently depending on the situation. There is courage in deciding to challenge our

organization with new collaborative government contracts outside of our territory, but the

growth opportunity is undeniable. Courage came into play when we transitioned to our open

work environment- our Collaborative Community, but the benefits of working openly have

added to our ability to create a new culture. And it has taken courage to take necessary action in

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our first quarter of 2014 to make the necessary adjustments in staff and expenses for

realignment of our business operations. All examples of courage; all defined differently.

3. Perseverance is not an option, it is mandatory. Once the decisions have been made, the work

must be done - and redone - to get to the goals. Stagnation creates doubt; perseverance and

commitment create ambassadors.

Recommendation: The first draft is just that- a draft. It is not until you put the effort into play

that reality becomes a factor. We tried several iterations of values and subsequent behaviors

before we implemented what we have today. And we focus on the language and the behaviors

to make a difference. We will continue to use the values in our everyday business decisions, in

our rewards and recognitions programs, and in our performance evaluations to heighten the

awareness for all associates. We are committed to our decision.

4. Actions need to be specific. As values, beliefs, principles, competencies are defined, intentional

language and defined behaviors must be used to express desired outcomes. The best path is the

simplest path and the one most easily understood by the majority.

Recommendation: “One must seek first to understand, then to be understood.”1 It took a lot of

discussion among our leadership to define values and behaviors that were universally

understood. We all have slightly different interpretations of the same words and that comes

into play when you are building a new platform. Be certain that there is consensus and then

work hard to simplify for the majority to truly understand. We will continue to work on our

specific language as we define our leader competencies in our next steps with Epperson.

1 Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

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5. Past experience cannot be the basis for change, but can be the catalyst for change. In most

situations where true culture change has occurred, the old ways were abandoned, new

methodology sought, and leaders unwilling to adapt, left behind.

Recommendation: We cannot be afraid to make the tough choices that come with redefining

culture. There will always be some leaders that cannot or are not willing to change to fit the

organizational direction, but would rather hold on to history. It is the responsibility of the

leadership to identify and “weed out” the individuals who could ultimately derail efforts. We will

continue to review leadership in this new light- from hiring to onboarding and evaluation. It is an

ongoing process.

6. Respect is an integral component to creating the shift. Respect for each other’s differences and

beliefs is key to having a combined leadership team that stays connected.

Recommendation: In any leadership team, you must first understand your differences to best

understand how you work best together. We undertook the Personality Insights to determine

our work styles, default behaviors and actions. It proved very enlightening to understand how

people think, why people react, and how they will react, in order to determine how we can best

work together. We will continue to use this new knowledge about each other as we strive for a

more highly integrated leadership team.

7. Any significant change requires an ongoing review, a check in with the affected audiences, and

even a willingness to reset goals if obstacles arise. In this instance, it is not perseverance alone,

but a keen awareness of the associate need and the environmental impact, and a willingness to

admit when things are not working as envisioned. Review, relate, and recalibrate; repeat often.

Recommendations: We conduct an associate survey every 18 months and the knowledge we

glean from the responses is invaluable in adapting our leadership strategy and our actions on

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behalf of our associates. I think this tool will be even more powerful as we build our culture- are

we truly focused on People First? Are we exercising behaviors as defined by our values? Are we

leading with mission and vision in mind? Our Associates will tell us what we need to know. I also

believe that work with Family Strengthening initiatives will reinforce our culture and position us

to help our associates on multiple levels.

8. Success resides in finding the good in people and not focusing on the bad. The most effective

leaders in implementing positive culture change understand that failure is an element of

success. Focusing on what did not work keeps organizations stuck; focusing on what does work

propels organizations forward.

Recommendations: Our value, Integrity, now contains the behavior: “Be accountable for

successes as well as mistakes.” Mistakes are a reality- it is the way that you handle mistakes that

can define an organization. If leadership embraces failure as a path to learning, associates are

able to be more innovative and ultimately more productive. We will identify our mistakes and

take accountability and we will continue to celebrate our successes.

9. Passion is enduring - it is the breath that keeps the organization alive. In executing leadership

change across broad organizations, there is the overriding element of passion for one’s work.

The passion exists based on the people and not just the business. The passion allows leaders to

be authentic and to share their vision effectively with others. It invites others to follow.

Recommendation: Most Goodwill leaders that I have met share a great passion for our

collective mission. There is a spirituality that exists among long term Goodwill leaders that is

palpable, particularly at large scale meetings, such as Delegate Assembly, COE. I believe that

passion, while demonstrated in differing ways, is clearly a key ingredient to escalating change.

The leaders must believe and must be vocal in sharing that belief.

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10. Leadership must be practiced as a discipline. It is never one and done, but practiced

continuously and in a variety of circumstances.

Recommendations: As we have gone through this process with Epperson, it has become so

clear why they classify this as Leadership “training”- we are always learning how to be better

leaders based on the situations. Just as our Goodwill faced budget challenges for 2014 and our

leadership had to adapt to the process of realignment, we are all faced with opportunities to

hone our leadership skills daily. Whether we learn by observing others, reading a book,

attending a seminar, or putting leadership into action and decision making, we are always

practicing, never perfected.

Conclusion

It began with a vision of leadership that clearly aligned with our Goodwill mission of serving others -

servant leadership. Charles Layman, our CEO, recognized the need for a change that would enable our

organization to continue to succeed in our service to others, and he knew this would involve significant

shifts in thinking. He started by breaking down the walls - removing the barriers of office walls and

replacing them with an open work environment, a collaborative community. The change in work style -

allowing associates to work in a manner that best suited their work and their temperament, whether

mobile or resident - was truly generational. The introduction of a leadership table in the midst of the

open collaboration was inspirational. And the process of changing the way we work was painful. But the

perseverance to make this happen and to adhere to his principles of open, collaborative leadership set

the tone for a new way to conduct business in our Goodwill.

The spirit of change became more intense. The sense that we needed to serve others at a higher level,

internally as well as externally, became a priority as the economic landscape changed in 2008. The

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intensity of need for individuals coupled with the natural rise in our retail business put us on a path of

aggressive development for the past five years. It challenged our leadership. Leadership struggled with

the focus on operations and the daily business of looking at the numerical results; not the greater vision

of looking at the human impact. In 2011, at a time of financial success, the idea of individual

achievement and empowerment became more critical to the organization. The focus turned to servant

leadership again to get our leadership development in greater synergy with our mission and not just our

numbers. We refocused on being a learning organization, setting learning goals for all associates; we

developed a reward and recognition program, STARR Awards; we reviewed and emphasized our

benefits; and we worked to define our behaviors as they aligned with the tenets of serving leaders - run

to great purpose, upend the pyramid, raise the bar, blaze the trail, build on strengths. But the effort

stalled. We allowed the business to become more powerful than the effort for leadership change. We

were focused on too many outcomes, including our mission and vision. We didn’t follow the primary

rule of change - perseverance. We needed to reset our vision.

Today, this is our hope - not just servant leadership - but a definition of leadership built on values that

most closely align with our mission and our vision. From hiring and onboarding to performance

evaluations, we should be able to integrate these values fully into our culture and our work. For

Goodwill, we have clear direction as defined by our mission and reinforced by our vision to help others

be self-sufficient. We already have an ignition key for our associates - how do we use it? We must

become today’s leaders that associates aspire to become tomorrow. We are on our own version of the

Luck Companies, Goodwill of Menasha or Indianapolis journey.

The process now begins at the core - we finally realized that it has to be a personal journey in alignment

with a professional evolution. Until we reached this conclusion, there was no way to break down the

natural barriers that separated us as people and defined us as leaders. Understanding ourselves will lead

to a greater understanding of each other. It took the objectivity of an outside resource to force us to

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look inward. We had become our own obstacle. The component that was missing before – the sense of

spirituality - the belief in the greater good of our organization and our collective contributions - is now

more clearly in focus. And the values- based discussions have truly ignited a new passion for being more

authentic leaders - and this is appealing to ALL generations. We know what we stand for today. The

bottom line remains clearly on the dashboard, but the strategic vision is People First. The pervasive

need for constant review - leadership development, 360⁰ assessments, and ongoing, committed culture

training - leads to a more transparent organization better equipped to serve externally based on the

expertise - and the diversity - of our workforce. It propels us to make the tough decisions that we have

this year. It allows us to be more effective, accomplishing long- range growth of those involved in

producing the desired end as well as the result itself. 2 It shows in the numbers - both dollars and human

capital as well as outcomes for the mission. Isn’t that why we are here? We are Goodwill…serving others

through the power of work.

Personal Learning Reflection

1. Describe how the commitment to our mission and vision affects the decisions we make on this

new model. Is there an advantage?

I truly believe that being a part of an organization that has a clear mission and a dedicated vision

is an advantage in making any culture changes and patterning any leadership model. In this way,

you always begin with the end in mind - it gives an organization an unwavering goal. This was

true in my earlier career at Ukrop’s Super Markets, where we had a Mission and Vision

Statement and Core Values at work that were revisited twice during my 15-year tenure. It is

even more apparent with Goodwill, where the mission clearly drives all business decisions (or

2 Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges, The Servant Leader Transforming Your Heart, Head, Hands & Habits, p. 58.

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should). Our advantage is that we already know the desired outcome, the question becomes

how can we be even more effective in our delivery? That is the journey as I have seen it -

starting and stopping, twisting and turning, stumbling and forging ahead - to get us to the

realization that it still begins and ends with our people: ourselves, those we serve, those we

lead, and those we follow.

2. Define how the generational differences affect our decision on leadership style and model best

suited to attract the workforce of tomorrow, while retaining the experience of today’s

associates.

Over the past year, I saw numerous references to organizational change needing to adapt to

today’s workforce. Whether it was the intentional language in Goodwill NCW, the discarding of

the rule book at Goodwill in Central Indiana, or the open office environment of our Collaborative

Community, the broad- based appeal to a multi-generational audience was clear. The existing

standards had to be rewritten for today’s understanding. The older methodology of traditional

work styles had to be revisited and often revamped. Most importantly, the communication tools

were simply reinvented. The important balance has been to not lose the expertise of the older

workforce by shifting too quickly. In some instances, these individuals should be left behind, but

there are many times that the historical information and the “been there, done that”

perspective serve organizations well in making future decisions. I find the generational

discussions to be fascinating and really believe that these will be important studies for us as we

move forward. Understanding how people think, what they believe, what they desire, what they

expect will be critical to attracting and engaging younger professionals to Goodwill while

managing older wisdom within our organization.

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3. Understand the necessity for family strengthening initiatives in creating a stronger, more loyal

workforce for our organization.

My involvement with the Family Strengthening Task Force has been a huge enlightenment for

me. In the cocoon of my past career involvement, I was never so keenly aware of the associates’

needs. The mission of Goodwill brings this to the forefront in our organization. Our vision

defined by our goodChoice program, which was designed to provide financial literacy training to

associates, has opened the door to understanding the depth of issues among our associates. We

now deal with issues that involve transportation, childcare, housing and even food on a regular

basis. Our integrated task force meets regularly to define initiatives and address new areas of

opportunity. Our next step is to establish the “Hand Up” fund (borrowed from the Menasha

Goodwill) - an emergency fund for associates funded by associates and managed by a task force

of associates (not Human Resources). To me, the Family Strengthening initiatives are a clear

indication of our putting people first - we want associates to be successful, not only in their jobs,

but in their lives outside of Goodwill. It is not just the job; it is the person that matters.

4. Create next steps to move past the complacency of current success to invigorate our workforce

and our Board to stay engaged in 2014 and beyond.

We are clearly on our next steps with the Values Based Leadership sessions conducted by Tom

Epperson. I am amazed at the personal reflection that occurred with the Personality Insights

exercise and the open discussion that has resulted among the leadership team. I sense a sincere

desire to learn more and to be better leaders and better humans. The unanimous support of the

new definitions and behaviors surrounding our values has been tremendous - catapulting this to

a main focal point for all associates. We are practicing using the “intentional language” that

others have done so well. I believe the continued work with Epperson will get us to the next

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level as long as we stay committed. It is both a budget commitment and an emotional time

commitment.

The other area of opportunity will be the review and reflection phase. I think this will naturally

occur as we employ the 360⁰ tool at the end of our year with VBL training. The 360⁰ tool for the

EDP program opened my eyes to multiple areas of opportunity and affirmed areas of strength. It

will be critical for us to use these reviews to continue to grow and to not balk at the feedback.

We are learning that “feedback is a gift” - and the best leaders with whom I have worked always

welcomed feedback and accepted it graciously. I strive to be as gracious with my teams. And I

anticipate that we, as a leadership team, will no longer be complacent, but will position

ourselves for continuous improvement. I finally think we have the courage to make those tough

decisions - those that shape lives, having the greatest effect on those around us.

The other area of critical learning has been the need to “circulate” rather than merely “cascade”

information. I have realized that single direction of cascading information does not open the

loop, but keeps it closed. To become more authentic leaders, we must take information from

the ground up, not just the top down, to make decisions. It is the practice of “upending the

pyramid” that truly puts people first and allows us to build a firmer foundation. It can be as

simple as enlisting associate suggestions through a formal process or engaging associates in

general conversation at a site visit. But one has to be open and approachable. I work hard to be

in “circulation”.

We have begun some steps with greater engagement with our Board as well. We are setting a

different tone for our Board meetings to provide for greater discussion and less reporting. We

will move to a board schedule that will allow for both compliance and discussion at all meetings,

designed to address more strategic issues into which the Board can provide community input.

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These issues may range from dealing with poverty to marketing our mission as topics. I also

think the Board will benefit from the generational discussions. Our Board composition should

reflect generational diversity as well. I will be involved with Charles Layman and our Board chair

as we determine the meeting content for the remainder of this year.

References and Acknowledgements

Lisa Rusyniak - President and CEO, Goodwill Industries of Chesapeake, Inc.

o In person interview

Kristine Hackbarth-Horn, SPHR, CCP, CBP, VP – People & Culture, Goodwill Industries NCW

Menasha, WI

o Phone interview.

o Materials shared:

“Bringing it to life…where intentional culture and innovation come together to

put people first”

PowerPoint presentation that describes the process of developing the

culture for Goodwill Industries NCW

The Building Blocks of our people journey

Timelines and key components of their journey

Care-fronting Guidebook

This Goodwill’s approach to performance evaluation and value

alignment of their team members

Caring Leader Program

Growth and Development Plan Guidebook for the Team Leader

Great Rewards: Good Pay. Good Care. Good Work

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“Program designed to help team leaders attract, hire, develop, and

reward team members who are committed to our vision and mission.”

Kent Kramer -Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Goodwill Industries of Central

Indiana, Inc.

o Phone interview

o Materials shared:

Strategic Directions

Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, Inc. Strategic plan Oct. 28, 2010

Leadership Series

Established leadership series with six monthly seminars

Performance Development Review

Individual Effectiveness Evaluation- Basic Principles

Keith Reissaus - Managing Director, Nurse-Family Partnership, Indiana, Goodwill Industries of

Central Indiana, Inc.

o Phone interview

Robert K. Greenleaf, The Servant as Leader

o Reference

Ken Jennings, 5 Powerful Actions that Will Transform Your Team, Your Business, and Your

Community

o Reference

Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges, The Servant Leader, Transforming Your Heart, Head, Hands &

Habits

o Reference

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Charles Luck - President and CEO, Luck Companies, Manakin-Sabot, Virginia

o Luck Companies: Igniting Human Potential

Presentations on Values Based Leadership and his own corporate experience

Matt Thornhill - Founder and President, Boomer Project and GenerationsMatter

o Generations@Work presentation and materials- Leadership Tools and Training on

Generations

Financial Wellness/Family Strengthening Initiatives

o Inspiring the Strength of Goodwill Employees-Learning Lab in Austin, TX, July 15-16, 2013

o Executive Liaison on Family Strengthening Task Force for Goodwill of Central Virginia

Tom Epperson - Leadership Development Manager, Luck Companies

o Values Based Leadership

Sessions based on the Luck VBL program designed to assist our organization in

redefining our values for 2014; and building our leadership model based on

these values.

Bronwyn Jones - Organizational Development, Goodwill of Central Virginia, Inc.

o Ongoing resource for leadership training materials and general guidanceAppendices

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A. GCVA Core Values- revised 2/2014

Value Outcome BehaviorsInnovation We exercise the power to

make improvements. Capture and acknowledge each other’s ideas Explore possibilities and take risks Take action to make a positive difference Make improvements continuously

Respect We value and connect with others.

Listen first Value others’ points of view Share information Do unto others as they would have me do unto them Show others that they make a difference

Integrity We earn trust through all of our actions.

Do the right thing, even when no one is looking. Communicate openly and honestly Act with positive intent Be accountable for successes as well as mistakes Practice ethical reporting and accounting

Learning We grow and succeed through learning.

Approach everything as an opportunity to learn Share what I know Change behaviors based on learning through

experience Support growth in others

Teamwork We achieve goals and deliver our mission together.

Involve and engage team members at all levels Discover and use other’s talents Build an environment of trust Celebrate success

Commitment We demonstrate our value to and impact on the organization.

Be passionate about our mission Be trustworthy Stand up for others Demonstrate perseverance Deliver on promises

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B. Values Based Leadership Integration – Training Schedule

TOPIC DATE

1. VBL 101 (Luck, 4 hours) 1/14/14 8AM -12PM

2. Insights Personality Profile (Luck, 4 hours) 2/18/14 8AM -12PM

3. Giving and Receiving Feedback (Luck, 4 hours) 3/11/14 8AM -12PM

4. Situational Leadership II (Luck, 16 hours) 4/14/14 –415/14

8AM- 5PM each day

5. Diagnosing & Adapting using Core Values, Insights, SLII (Luck, 4 hours)

5/13/14 8AM -12PM

6. Leading with a Vision (Luck, 4 hours) 6/10/14 8AM -12PM

7. “Connect the dots” meeting/learning application (DOE team) 7/8/14 8AM -12PM

8. Facilitating Developmental Conversations (Luck, 4 hours) 8/12/14 8AM -12PM

9. Trust (Luck, 4 hours) 9/9/14 8AM -12PM

10. Developing Teams (Luck, 4 hours) 10/14/14 8AM -12PM

11. Influencing Others (Luck, 4 hours) 11/11/14 8AM -12PM

12. 360 degree feedback instrument (Luck, DOE team) 12/9/14 8AM -12PM

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